Proverbiorum 23
1 quando sederis ut comedas cum principe diligenter adtende quae posita sunt ante faciem tuam
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well who is before thee;
2 et statue cultrum in gutture tuo si tamen habes in potestate animam tuam
and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
3 ne desideres de cibis eius in quo est panis mendacii
Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful food.
4 noli laborare ut diteris sed prudentiae tuae pone modum
Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence:
5 ne erigas oculos tuos ad opes quas habere non potes quia facient sibi pinnas quasi aquilae et avolabunt in caelum
wilt thou set thine eyes upon it, it is gone; for indeed it maketh itself wings and it flieth away as an eagle towards the heavens.
6 ne comedas cum homine invido et ne desideres cibos eius
Eat thou not the food of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties.
7 quoniam in similitudinem arioli et coniectoris aestimat quod ignorat comede et bibe dicet tibi et mens eius non est tecum
For as he thinketh in his soul, so is he. Eat and drink! will he say unto thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 cibos quos comederas evomes et perdes pulchros sermones tuos
Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou vomit up, and thou wilt have wasted thy sweet words.
9 in auribus insipientium ne loquaris quia despicient doctrinam eloquii tui
Speak not in the ears of a foolish [man], for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 ne adtingas terminos parvulorum et agrum pupillorum ne introeas
Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 propinquus enim eorum Fortis est et ipse iudicabit contra te causam illorum
for their redeemer is mighty; he will plead their cause against thee.
12 ingrediatur ad doctrinam cor tuum et aures tuae ad verba scientiae
Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 noli subtrahere a puero disciplinam si enim percusseris eum virga non morietur
Withhold not correction from the child; for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die:
thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 fili mi si sapiens fuerit animus tuus gaudebit tecum cor meum
My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine;
16 et exultabunt renes mei cum locuta fuerint rectum labia tua
and my reins shall exult, when thy lips speak right things.
17 non aemuletur cor tuum peccatores sed in timore Domini esto tota die
Let not thy heart envy sinners, but [be thou] in the fear of Jehovah all the day;
18 quia habebis spem in novissimo et praestolatio tua non auferetur
for surely there is a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19 audi fili mi et esto sapiens et dirige in via animum tuum
Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct thy heart in the way.
20 noli esse in conviviis potatorum nec in comesationibus eorum qui carnes ad vescendum conferunt
Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh.
21 quia vacantes potibus et dantes symbola consumentur et vestietur pannis dormitatio
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth with rags.
22 audi patrem tuum qui genuit te et ne contemnas cum senuerit mater tua
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 veritatem eme et noli vendere sapientiam et doctrinam et intellegentiam
Buy the truth, and sell it not; wisdom, and instruction, and intelligence.
24 exultat gaudio pater iusti qui sapientem genuit laetabitur in eo
The father of a righteous [man] shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise [son] shall have joy of him:
25 gaudeat pater tuus et mater tua et exultet quae genuit te
let thy father and thy mother have joy, and let her that bore thee rejoice.
26 praebe fili mi cor tuum mihi et oculi tui vias meas custodiant
My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
27 fovea enim profunda est meretrix et puteus angustus aliena
For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 insidiatur in via quasi latro et quos incautos viderit interficit
She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 cui vae cuius patri vae cui rixae cui foveae cui sine causa vulnera cui suffusio oculorum
Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who complaining? Who wounds without cause? Who redness of eyes?
30 nonne his qui morantur in vino et student calicibus epotandis
— They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try mixed wine.
31 ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit cum splenduerit in vitro color eius ingreditur blande
Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkleth in the cup, and goeth down smoothly:
32 sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber et sicut regulus venena diffundet
at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 oculi tui videbunt extraneas et cor tuum loquetur perversa
Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall speak froward things;
34 et eris sicut dormiens in medio mari et quasi sopitus gubernator amisso clavo
and thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, and as he that lieth down upon the top of a mast:
35 et dices verberaverunt me sed non dolui traxerunt me et ego non sensi quando evigilabo et rursum vina repperiam
— “They have smitten me, [and] I am not sore; they have beaten me, [and] I knew it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
